Footstepsinthesand Mare Tops Keeneland January Opener

Recently retired mare Premier Steps (5m Footstepsinthesand x Primissima, by Second Set) was the top priced offering during the first session of the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale in Kentucky on Monday when selling for $400,000. She was bought by leading Japanese breeders Shadai Farm, the sale pleasing her owners. “That was significantly more than I thought [she would bring],” said Pete Bradley, manager of the partnership group that raced Premier Steps in the US. “She’s a beautiful mare, she had some real potential as a racehorse, and if you looked back at who she raced against in Europe—that’s why you saw Coolmore and the Europeans bidding on her—she was right there among the very best 2-year-olds of her year or just a half-notch below.” A stakes-winner in the US and Group placed in Europe, Premier Steps is the first stakes-winner Primissima, a daughter of English stakes-winner Princess Taufan.